Field of Dreams Tour - Fenway Park
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Fenway Park! All of us were excited about going to the Red Sox game, but Cherie and I were particularly excited. Fenway is a magic place - a ballpark only rivaled by Wrigley Field in Chicago for ambiance, history and that aura of baseball a hundred years ago (ok, Fenway was built in 1912). Zack wasn't quite as thrilled as we were, but he was still riding high on our visit at the begining of the trip to Yankee Stadium. Zack is a rabid Yankees fan - Zoe is our resident Bean Town booster (after all, our neighbor J.T. Snow spent last season there after a brilliant career with the Giants).
Mike and Hannah joined us for the game as our Boston locals and we went early to soak it all in. We walked all around the ballpark ahead of the game, enjoying the sites and smells of Yawkey Way, getting Red Sox paraphenalia and sausages from street vendors. Even Zack agreed to don a Red Sox cap for the evening and it didn't burn his little Yankee lovin' scalp.
Part of the magic of Fenway is that, even though they've added a jumbotron and neon lights, its a park that largely feels like it did when it was built in 1912. It's a small, brick ballpark with small, fold-down wooden seats. There's barely a women's bathroom to speak of since it wasn't proper for a lady to go to a ballgame back then - of course, that makes the experience less than ideal for women today! Food choices are simple: beer, soda, dogs and peanuts. Of course, you can get a Sam Adams beer which is a major plus.
Nowhere, even Yankee Stadium, presents fans as unified, passionate and vocal about their support for the team. Everyone, I mean everyone, is wearing Red Sox hats and shirts. This is a ballpark where people still enthusiastically do the wave. AND... in the middle of the eighth inning, for reasons not as compelling as the act itself, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline is pumped through the loudspeakers and everyone sings along. It's unique to Boston and part of the charm. Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield provided a no-hitter for seven innings and an exciting victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. We had a great time and it was a fantastic end to a wonderful trip. Tomorrow... we head for home, so this will be the last vacation blog entry.